# Mr. Beer review



## boonedoggle (Jun 23, 2006)

Well, the time has come. Things shut down early at work, so I decided to crack open my home project. In case you are wondering, I did not jump the gun...ample time was allowed for everything. 

My beer 1 liter bottle and my favorite beer mug:


Yep. Zero head. This beer is flatter than the chest of a runway model:


Well, gotta try it...


BITTER BEER FACE!



Well, all-in-all, each sip gets better. It's not bad, but I need to find out what I can do (if anything) to carbonate these baby's.


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## JPH (Jun 30, 2006)

They are not carbonated?

You were supposed to put sugar in each bottle before putting the beer in there.... that gives it carbonation.


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## boonedoggle (Jun 23, 2006)

JPH said:


> They are not carbonated?
> 
> You were supposed to put sugar in each bottle before putting the beer in there.... that gives it carbonation.


yeah, I did that. That didn't seem to work.


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## JRedner (Apr 24, 2007)

JPH said:


> They are not carbonated?
> 
> You were supposed to put sugar in each bottle before putting the beer in there.... that gives it carbonation.


What JPH said. It's called priming. If you let them sit they may carbonate a little over time, but not the level you are probably expecting. Not without adding more food for the yeast.


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## JPH (Jun 30, 2006)

boonedoggle said:


> yeah, I did that. That didn't seem to work.


Hmmm.... My beer tasted a little bit off..(like plastic/cardboard).... but it was well carbonated.


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## boonedoggle (Jun 23, 2006)

JRedner said:


> What JPH said. It's called priming. If you let them sit they may carbonate a little over time, but not the level you are probably expecting. Not without adding more food for the yeast.


I think I'm going to let them set a little while longer. Again, I did everything to the T according to the book. I suppose I'll give them another week before cracking the next.


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## boonedoggle (Jun 23, 2006)

I read that the beer mellows out as it warms after being removed from the fridge. 30 minutes out have actually improved the taste and she actually has a head now. I do believe it was too cold when I first poured it. Interesting.


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## D. Generate (Jul 1, 2004)

I adore homebrewed beer. I love beer and have tried many, but I have never had a better beer than some of the ones I've brewed myself.

I hate to be a snob, and I've never used a Mr. Beer, but I have never heard very good things about it. Your mileage may vary.

If you are interested in homebrewing, I believe you can do it better even with a small kitchen. If you have a homebrew shop near you, go visit and ask them what you need. Chances are it won't be much more involved than the Mr. Beer and you'll probably get better results. :2


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## Benz_one (Mar 22, 2006)

boonedoggle said:


> I read that the beer mellows out as it warms after being removed from the fridge. 30 minutes out have actually improved the taste and she actually has a head now. I do believe it was too cold when I first poured it. Interesting.


I will need to try this when it comes time for me to sample mine. The color of the beer looked pretty decent!


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## boonedoggle (Jun 23, 2006)

Benz_one said:


> I will need to try this when it comes time for me to sample mine. The color of the beer looked pretty decent!


The color was very nice. I do think this will improve with another several days. Only time will tell.


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## boonedoggle (Jun 23, 2006)

D. Generate said:


> I adore homebrewed beer. I love beer and have tried many, but I have never had a better beer than some of the ones I've brewed myself.
> 
> I hate to be a snob, and I've never used a Mr. Beer, but I have never heard very good things about it. Your mileage may vary.
> 
> If you are interested in homebrewing, I believe you can do it better even with a small kitchen. If you have a homebrew shop near you, go visit and ask them what you need. Chances are it won't be much more involved than the Mr. Beer and you'll probably get better results. :2


I like to drink beer, but not often. I like spirits more. That will prolly be my next adventure! Then again, if something goes wrong there, I might end up BLIND!


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## massphatness (Jan 4, 2008)

As an introduction to home brewing, you could do worse than Mr. Beer. True, it's not a top of the line product, but I don't think it advertises itself as such. The end product is passable, though I agree it's a little "off" at first. I found the bottom half of the pints I made to be far closer to _normal_ beer than the first half. Still, the whole experience was enough to pique my interest in home brewing. Unfortunately, I recently found c-bid and now spend every waking hour there.


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## sspolv (Dec 26, 2005)

boonedoggle said:


> I like to drink beer, but not often. I like spirits more. That will prolly be my next adventure! Then again, if something goes wrong there, I might end up BLIND!


Well.....if you do it right, you won't. Just don't use lead based solders. Only aluminum. Or...at least I'm told...

Oh, and always triple distill!

I mean....distilling alcohol for personal consumption or private sale is illegal and immoral. Period.

:shifty eyes:


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## Demented (Nov 7, 2006)

How to brew

recipator


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## hooperjetcar (Dec 14, 2006)

sspolv said:


> Well.....if you do it right, you won't. Just don't use lead based solders. Only aluminum. Or...at least I'm told...
> 
> Oh, and always triple distill!
> 
> ...


You don't have to triple distill, just be sure to throw away the first 1/4 to 1/2 a mason jar. (I can't remember how much that is, I want to say 50 ml, but that doesn't seem like enough)

Not that I would know or anything...


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## horrorview (Jan 27, 2005)

LOL! My wife bought me this thing for our anniversary in November. We've been busy moving and stuff, though, so I haven't even opened the box it came in yet, but I'm scared now! LOL. That last picture was priceless!!! :r


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## TideRoll (Nov 7, 2005)

My first experience at brewing was with a Mr. Beer kit. It went pretty well with the included brew (it was a light-tasting lager). I never did buy any of their follow up mixes but went to a local codger who had a gun shop and beer and wine-making shop and bought a variety of stuff. He usually had some pretty good advice. The only time I didn't like what resulted from my Mr. Beer setup was a smokey ale which basically tasted like water used to put a campfire out, with maybe a sock in the fire. 

They aren't complex little kits at all, but I thought mine was a fine way to get your feet wet in a fascinating pursuit.


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## LordOfWu (Dec 31, 2007)

My first homebrewing experience was with a Mr. Brew. Nope, it didn't turn out well, but it got me interested enough to go to a local brew shop and get some better equipment and try again. Brewed pretty consistently for about 4 years, haven't brewed in a couple of years though. Hmmmmm.....maybe time to clean off the carboy and give it another go?


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## Galaxie_xl (Oct 21, 2007)

I got a Mr Beer kit and two beer mixes (Irish Stout and a Canadian Draft) for Christmas. Started it almost two weeks ago and I'm bottling tomorrow. How much time did you give yours to carbonate?


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## Fortune500 (Jan 22, 2008)

I can't speak on the Mr. Beer product... seen it, know some people that have it, but I've been homebrewing for several years. 

it's going to vary from beer to beer, but I generally leave mine set in the bottles for at least a month before cracking one. Sometimes, at a month, it's still flat, so I'll crack another one at two... and so on.

Homebrewing is a rewarding hobby, and I take a lot of pride in it, but it's certainly not for the impatient. Good luck with your batches. I'm currently working on an Irish Red Ale, myself.


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## Benz_one (Mar 22, 2006)

After a 3 week fermentation, 2 week carbonation and a 2 day fridge time, I sampled my first Mr. Beer last night. I made the Canadian draft that came with the kit. The color was nice, smelled nice, had ok carbonation. The flavor was decent...a bit bitter, not very deep in flavor, but reasonably smooth and refreshing. Overall, I would say it is a step up from a Bud, but certainly not amazing. I was expecting it to be much worse! 

It will be interesting to see how the taste changes while going though all of the bottles of this.

Before Christmas, a big box store near me sold Mr. Beer refill kits for a decent price, so I picked one up. After I get closer to finishing off this batch, I will try the Vienna Lager.  :tu


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## ChokeOnSmoke (Oct 30, 2007)

Just completed my very first batch of Mr. Beer. Mixed together the American Light with a Pale Export Malt Extract. Let it ferment for 3 weeks. Bottled it and let it sit 2 weeks at room tempature. Then moved it all to the fridge for another week. Let me say, it was excellent. My wife and I couldn't get over how good it turned out. Very clear, great taste and an excellent carbonation/head. I couldn't be happier with my first attempt.
Can't wait to get a new flavor going next weekend. :tu


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## boonedoggle (Jun 23, 2006)

ChokeOnSmoke said:


> Just completed my very first batch of Mr. Beer. Mixed together the American Light with a Pale Export Malt Extract. Let it ferment for 3 weeks. Bottled it and let it sit 2 weeks at room tempature. Then moved it all to the fridge for another week. Let me say, it was excellent. My wife and I couldn't get over how good it turned out. Very clear, great taste and an excellent carbonation/head. I couldn't be happier with my first attempt.
> Can't wait to get a new flavor going next weekend. :tu


My Canadian Draft turned out quite well (well, according to one of my friend's and Sauer Grapes during the Super Bowl). I do want to attempt the Light beer very soon. I found that the aging time Mr. Beer prescribes isn't enough...at least a few weeks extra adds body and carbonation! :tu


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## ChokeOnSmoke (Oct 30, 2007)

boonedoggle said:


> My Canadian Draft turned out quite well (well, according to one of my friend's and Sauer Grapes during the Super Bowl). I do want to attempt the Light beer very soon. I found that the aging time Mr. Beer prescribes isn't enough...at least a few weeks extra adds body and carbonation! :tu


I have nothing to compare to, but from what I read, I wanted to wait as long as I possibly could before I tried it. I gotta think it helped to wait the extra number of weeks. My next attempt will probably be the Canadian Draft as it came with the kit. Just today I ordered the "Englishman Nut Brown Ale" and the "Mellow Amber UME" to mix with it. Sounded like a good combination. I'll let you know (in about 7 weeks) how it turned out!


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